The Japanese Politician's Woman
by Miss Mizuno
Summary: Serenity was destined by love and by politics to Endymion. But are the other princess doomed to solitude forevermore? This is Princess Mars' story...
1. The Japanese Politician's Woman 1

**The Japanese Politician's Woman**

**Monday 6:30am**

"Shit, how did this happen? You said that you had kept those radicals in control when I was asking you about it. You personally…"

"Look, it was unexpected, we hoped that we had dealt with them and their dissatisfaction before this happened, but obviously…"

"You failed, you damn failed!" Kyoru slammed his heavy fist onto the desk, and fell into his chair. Swiveling around, he faced the windows looking out onto the busy streets of Tokyo, still waking from the night's minimal rest. "Tell me, what are we to do?"

"I suggest confronting them. Make a fuss, call an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting); flush them out."

"You are suggesting handing more meat out to the media? Are you & crazy? The Opposition Party is probably laughing over today's paper, and you are suggesting that we keep feeding them with more publicity? You're nuts!"

"The point is, let it be known that you won't go quietly, that you are up to the challenge. Publicity will feed us the sympathy."

"Or our death blow, too risky, besides, they have Inouye on their side, he was our PR man until YOU, yes YOU, decided to throw him into the back-bench to control him, to stunt this takeover of theirs. Now you make them so dissatisfied they are coming right out to challenge us."

"Then maybe a change is for the best."

"What? You are saying that I should resign and let them takeover? For months we have been battling the claims of instability in the Party, and now we go around and admit it, we can't do that!"

"Sir, either that, or we go to the Party Poll. I would suggest leaving gracefully, but, it is your decision."

"Of course it is my $## decision!" Kyoru's hands reached to his temples and massaged it gently, "damn, I guess that's it? End of my political career. But I'm not going to let that two-faced monkey Imaruru win so easily, I'm calling National Elections, let's see how he'll deal with it. Set up a press release, we'll announce it tomorrow afternoon, stall the press."

"Yes sir." The man turned around and left, muttering under his breath, "sore loser."

Kyoru picked up his jacket and left the office after his aid. Once he reached the street, he headed for a payphone. He pressed the number to the home of a young man… (comparatively, considering the fact that he was near 70 himself), burnt in his memory. The phone call was untraceable, that was what was so important. "Son?"

"Yes?"

"Think you are ready to run the greatest country?"

"Anytime old man, I've been waiting for you to cark it."

"I'm not carking, I'm resigning."

"Same thing. Today's paper says it all."

"Think you got a chance?"

"Always, keep me posted."

**6:30am**

She sat in her room early in the morning, staring at the newspaper in her hand. As she looked at the faces of the two men who starred in the front page, her minded drifted back in time. Her eyes searched for something to focus on, trying to prevent the flood of unhappy memories, but failed. As she slowly closed her eyes, a single tear dripped from the end of her long, curly eyelashes, some things were better not remembered. Taking a deep breath, she re-composed herself, time for her early morning ritual. She gave the men on the paper one more cursory glance as she flicked her long dark hair away from her face; they were out of her life for good.

Or so she thought.

**6:35am **

A man in his late forties, dressed in a conservative grey suit pressed a button on his redial, "hey, we've got meat! Get up our attacking gear, the First Party's going under."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, my trusted source. I want a team, we're on a roll man!

"Yes, of course, Kyoni-san. We're ready."

**7:00am**

In the Tokyo First Party Headquarters, eight men sat smoking and drinking coffee around a large conference table. Their lack of sleep was beginning to show; they were all looking haggard, save two, whose responsibility was to stay looking fresh and unflustered. "Damn, this wasn't supposed to come out. Who the hll leaked this out to those damned media people? I'll be damned!"

The older one of the more refreshed personnel leaned back into chair, "let's make the best out of this then. It might help our cause in the end."

A man with thick glasses and unappealing eyes looked at him in a slightly sarcastic way, the way that he struck his chest out despite the fatigue showed that he was a proud man, the proud PR of the group. "That's easy for you to say. What about you doing something? We've been working out butts off since the paper came out at the crack of dawn, and you tell us to 'make the best of it'?"

"What have you done so far, Hoshimoto? With all your stress and hype about mending the situation." The younger man followed the example of his older compatriot, and leaned into his black leather chair. He swung his long legs onto the table, and picked up his coffee, taking a long drink. "We can turn things around. What about the sleaze we got from their office? Use that as an excuse for why we're challenging Kyoru's hold office."

The others busily took notes to the suggestion that Inouye had just given, trying to expand on the idea which may or may not save them from potential political disaster. They turned to the older man again, "what do you say to that idea Imaruru?"

Imaruru smiled at the naivety of Inouye's suggestion but the hidden potential of it, ignoring the others' question, he turned to him. "Leak it, don't tell it. A bit of dirty work I know, what can you expect from politicians though?"

"Yeah, the immoral, unethical souls, that's what they all say." Answered his younger compatriot with a grin, "I'm 27 and I've lost my soul to the devil, what on earth shall I do? Dear me, I'll never find myself a good woman if I don't have a soul. God help me!"

Imaruru looked at his partner's grin, Inouye had a certain sense of charm, an easy-going personality that the older people liked to baby, and younger people like to claim as a member of their group. His young face was popular with the media; nothing he said could be wrong, his public relations training had done him a world of good. No matter the ditch, Inouye still managed to climb out unscathed with a smile and some sensible words. His child-like face was only a farce, his brain had developed to a stage where most men never knew, and he was the man who got 110 out of the possible 100. This man had ambition, and was alert. His brain, meticulous, combing through every possible scenario, Inouye only lacked the experience… but experience could be earned. "You want something done, this is how you do it douji (kid), in the REAL world."

Inouye knew that, he hadn't climbed this far up the political ladder and learnt nothing, still, Imaruru liked to assert his age superiority and call him 'douji'. They made a good partnership, the young, charming behind, and the older, sturdy character as the front man. "Well, that's what you are here to do, isn't it?" Inouye quickly swung his legs from the oak desk. "Let's call it a morning. Don't worry, I'll deal with the press personally, get someone to leak out the information, shouldn't be too much of a problem. Rub on the dirt and call us the saviour."

"Nothing too specific: just say that the party needs a bit of a changeover; and we might be just the thing. Our party policies are sound; we just need new leaders who've got the credibility, but naturally living under the same principles."

Hoshimoto raised his eyebrow and sighed a breath of relief. "Not bad, not bad for the future Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Japan. We'll see how things go when this little bit of news meets the media."

Inouye met Imaruru's eyes and nodded his. "No luck tracing who the illegitimate kid of his is huh? Keep working on it. Alright, let's go face the press, see how the weather is." They stood up, and carefully stacked the loose paper on the table beside them into their glossy black briefcase. In quick steps, the two left, leaving the others quickly packing up behind them.

**7:15am**

"Ami, what's in the news today?" Usagi leaned over towards Ami from her desk just before class started. Not that she was actually interested in what was happening in the world, but Luna had been nagging…

Ami looked up at her friend from her book. Luna had managed to remain firm with the command that Usagi be early to school from now on and know a bit more than what Mangas fed her. Without hesitation Ami recited the newspaper briefs, "In the political arena, there's been a leak out that Imaruru-san and Inouye-san are planning to topple Kyoru-san's grasp on leadership, and then of course the Kyoni-san will be out on the full again attacking the stability of the government. And then there is the war going on in…"

"What?"

Ami stopped dead in her tracks, "what what?"

"Who were all those people?"

Ami sighed at her friend and closed her eyes, "Imaruru-san is the Treasurer of the present government, Inouye-san is the Defence Minister and also the Work-Relations Minister."

"What about the others?"

"Kyoni-san is the Opposition Leader."

"And the other one?"

Ami stared at Usagi in bewilderment, "Usagi!! How can you not know! Kyoru-san is the present Prime Minister of Japan!"


	2. The Japanese Politician's Woman 2

**The Japanese Politician's Woman**

**Monday 10:45am**

Rei stared aimlessly out the windows, twirling her pen around her fingers as the wind breezed through the classroom. She saw the younger classes outside in the playground on their 'morning break', one which occurred every hour to suit the short concentration span of 6 year olds. Her eyes focused specifically on one of the children on the swing, it was such a long time since she had been on one of those, seven long years. The wind against her closed eyes, laughter filling the whole back garden when she was pushed…

_**Flashback**_

"Higher! Higher!! Push me harder Kenta-kun, I want to see the world from here, I want to be like that bird that flies high above the earth!"

A fleeting shadow fell against the rice-paper door, sliding open. "Rei, that is enough. You will make none of such demands, apologise immediately to…"

The man in his late teens merely shrugged his shoulders, "I don't mind at all, I enjoy spending time with her Hino-sama, she is still but a young child."

"Still… she is not to be spoilt."

"She is growing up quickly, she is becoming quite a young lady."

"You are a contradiction in your own terms. A young lady and a young child are not to be put together in one entity. Come child, go back to your room, I have business to talk about with Inouye-san."

"But oto-san (father), that is not fair!"

"REI! This is enough. You are becoming more stubborn everyday, you will not answer back to me."

Rei looked at her father in distaste, her eyes burning with anger. Her fists clenched tightly and her lips pouted. "You are always working, you never have anytime with me or ota-san (mother). Your kodomo (child) is your work, not me, it is your kobito (lover), your inochi (life)!"

He glared at his child, the headstrong product of him and his wife. His wife was sick, and having to look after this child was impossible. He raised his hands and slapped Rei across the face before he even knew it.

Rei felt herself being flung onto the ground, her face stung from what had just hit her. She sat there for a while, stunned, hot tears streaming down her hot angry cheeks, already beginning to swell from the blow. Suddenly another hand reached out towards her.

"Rei-chan, I will accompany you up to your room, don't cry, here wipe your eyes." Rei looked up at Kenta-kun's understanding eyes, and slipped her hand in his. Pushing herself up, she stood beside him. Taking his handkerchief, she wiped her eyes dry and stared with defiant eyes straight into her father's eyes. She could see him suffering from the shock of what had just occurred. It was always like that, a slap across the face, and then he would play pretend shock and guilt. She silently handed the handkerchief back to Kenta-kun and allowed herself to be led back to the house.

**Monday 12:39pm**

Two cats sat in the sun out in Tokyo Park, their bodies curled up to each other on the green bench beside the fountain. "Artemis, perhaps it is my over-protectiveness, but I feel that change is to become Rei, like it was to Ami. She must experience a lot of harshness in her world, something which none of us can help her with."

"We will always be there for her Luna, that is all we can do. Ami has grown much strong and happier from her experiences last year. It is a difficult thing for them to overcome, I have no doubt that all of the senshi will have to go through the same thing, and we can only support them with our friendship."

"Yes, Ami's experience has definitely made her a different person. She is now much more confident, I wish that she would be able to find happiness though."

"It will happen, soon Luna. I believe, when she gets into university… if my predictions are not too wrong of course, which they usually aren't."

"What about Rei then?"

"She will find her love, in time of course. We will just have to see her through, make sure that she is not pressurized into making any rash decisions. Let's stray off this gloomy topic shall we? I believe that your charge's mother will be serving tuna today."

"Hmmm… what heavens we live in… if only Ikuko would give us that every day… but then, looking after Usagi is sometimes too much of a sacrifice for good food."

"Oh Luna, you might not want to say it, but I know you too well, you wouldn't trade Usagi for the world."

**Monday 2:19pm**

"I don't give a damn what you think! I have every single right to do what I want with her, who do you think you are? Trying to stop me from seeing my…"

"Sir, please! I beg of you to remain calm. But it is against the rules for visitors during these hours, we cannot bend the rules…"

"Is this what I am paying for? If this is the case then I will withdraw…"

"Sir, we don't mean it this way. We are happy to do what we can to help you."

"Then get my 4v©k1N6 daughter out here! Bloody #311, what in God's name is wrong with all of you? Don't you know who I am?"

"Imaruru-san, please!" A young man suavely smiled at the poor man who had taken the insult, "he apologises for his inexcusable behaviour."

The red-faced man turned to his companion, Inouye-san, and remembered his place. He turned back to the gentleman in long robes sitting at the other end of side of the desk. "Uhum, you must excuse my outburst just then, no doubt you have seen the paper… the lack of sleep, the stress…" he waved his hands vaguely to gesture and draw into the air as if it would better explain the situation.

"Of course Hino-san! I understand your position completely. I will see what I can do for you. You rarely come and visit us; my obliging you is but a small honour." He rose from his seat and bowed to them, they did the same, and he hastily left the office to give instructions to his secretary.

The younger of the two gentlemen who stayed behind in the office smiled slightly. "Of all the things to do, you swear in a catholic school. Imaruru-san, you don't even use His name in vain in a place like this, and not only that, you go and talk about the other side too. Perhaps I might remind you that you are in the limelight now, you must not lose your calm, otherwise we will lose our cause. Please, try, I have known you long enough to know that sometimes even you do not know what you are doing."

Imaruru-san raised his hand up to silence him, "that's enough douji (kid), I realise what I did probably wasn't the best. Write out a cheque to them, as a donation to the building fund, and send him some gifts, personally, will you?"

"How much?"

"As much as you like, the cheque book is in your hands, as much as you think is necessary."

Inouye-san nodded his head and made a mental note of it. For years he had been picking up the pieces after his mentor. On good days, Imaruru-san was as smooth as oil, on bad days, he was like a hurricane, leaving tattered bits of half-built relationships with people for his junior to pick up. Now that they were going to start their own political campaign, it was more the important. He turned his eyes to the window, the architecture that reminded him of his own school days in England… he had returned to Japan since he was 20, he had graduated early and served the political party faithfully. He had been glad that Imaruru-san had taken him under his care, as the prodigious son, and now, made him his partner. Today, they were going to see someone special, someone special in both their lives. Unconsciously, his hands reached to his neck and touched his tie, a little crooked, he decided, and straightened it up.

"You're not meeting the Empress or anything. You look fine; just stop fretting. You know that she has always preferred you to me, I can't get a word into her, can't make a single opinion without fearing for the worse. All this for the party… for some sort of political power, political power my foot…"

"Imaruru-san… please! Stay calm!"

"Yeah, 'scuse me, I'm damn stressed. This is not a good day for me, man I need a cigarette, damn the rules in this $#17R$3 place."

"No! You are running a health-conscious campaign for God-sake! A cigarette will ruin everything we have been doing…"

"Damn it all!"

**Monday 2:30pm**

"Kyoni-san! Latest news is that Kyoru-san has prepared for a press conference tomorrow and is calling for National Elections!"

A gray figure swung around from his chair to face the man who had just rushed into his office. "I told you it was going to happen, don't bother me with useless, old information. I want new stuff, not those stale things! What have you been doing with finding me a partner to run for election? Any sleaze at all from those two?"

"No sir, we are still digging that up, Inouye-san seems pretty clean though… sir, we have three candidates, can we ask that you peruse this files before making your decision?"

"Don't fool around with me, everyone's got sleaze. Now, I want the best for a partner."

"These are the best sir, we are going to produce the cream team."

The small man in the grey suit reached out for the files that were handed to him. "You'd better!"

**Monday 2:30pm**

"Miss Hino? Miss Hino! Are you alright?"

Rei jerked up to face her teacher who was tapping on her desk. She realised that she must have drifted off; indeed, she had not heard a single word that her sensei had said during class. Rei immediately jerked up to her feet and with her head bowed, she answered the nun. "Excuse sensei, I was not paying attention, I will accept any punishment that you see fit and…"

"Miss Hino, come outside, we will talk for a moment."

"Yes sensei." Rei followed her sensei dutifully to the corridor. As the door opened, she looked out at the medieval archways of the old building in the shape of a quadrangle. The small garden in the middle of the quadrangle, and the fountain was the centerpiece for the whole building. Rei flinched, she suddenly felt out of place of the picturesque sight, like she did not fit into this life that she had loved and yearned for.

"Miss Hino, your reputation has always surpassed you. We see you as the role model for the younger girls and the others in your class. I am concerned, this is your final year, and you seem to be increasingly distracted. I understand, previously, the loss of your friend, Miss Mizuno was a great shock to you, but now…"

"I apologise sensei, I will not disappoint you again."

Another nun appeared from one of the doorways, rushing towards them, in a fashion that only a nun could manage. Not quite running, but haste steps, almost like she was power-walking, to hide the fact that they were flustered. Rei noted that she had rushed out from the principle's office, it could only be an emergency that she was waving her arms so frantically at them. Her sensei stepped forward, and the two conferred in hushed whispers. Seeing their worried faces, Rei turned and began to open the door back into the classroom.

"Wait, Miss Hino. I believe that this news concerns you."

Rei turned, and found the other nun that signal for her to follow. "Follow me if you please Miss Hino, this way."

**Monday 2:38pm**

A young woman, who had only a few minutes ago lain lazily on the lounge chair, now sat rigidly on the end of her seat. Gripping the white wooden frame, her fingernails dug deep into the golden decorations painted onto the frame. The knuckles of her fingers glowed with white from the lack of blood. Her porcelain face was also drained, her hazel eyes flashed in anger, her thin red lips moving quickly, seething the venom of rage. "No, I refuse!"

The older man facing her looked at this early 20's child in contempt, "arr… but you see Seira, you have no choice but to listen to me. Either you get married without my blessing and destroy your husband's career by the controversy, or you withdraw from it immediately. If you were to go against my wishes, I promise you that you will be turned out on the streets once the press gets hold of it. But if you are to listen to me, another marriage prospect will soon be presented to you, silver platters and all."

"You are not listening to me!" The woman stood up and stomped her foot. Her feminine body shaped by a ruby elaborate designer suit and her feet adorned a plainly expensive pair of matching high heels. "To get advantages for yourself, you first you force me to go out with him, sleep with him, get engaged to him…"

"This is what I am getting you out of, my dear."

"No! That's not the point, the moment I develop reciprocal feelings for him, you force me withdraw from it? That's not fair!"

The man stood and faced her, his face only inches away from hers. His large hands reached to grab the thin shoulders wrapped in the expensive ruby coat, and shook her forcefully. He leaned his face closer, almost to the point of touching it, he lowered his voice menacingly. "I don't care if it is fair or not, I will not allow my daughter to marry that political scumbag, the man who is ending my political career. For sure he is young, and the press will say that he is handsome, but he cannot win this election, stepping out with that Imaruru-baka (idiot) will only lose him voters. I am no longer Prime Minister because of those two. My daughter will marry someone worthwhile!"

Seira twisted herself out of her father grasp, her short auburn hair tousled from his shaking. "You mean you will only let me marry the man that you can gain something from? Who do you have in mind this time for me to be a slut to? A rich merchant banker or is it another political ally who is loyal to you for the moment? You cannot force me!"

He raised his hand high and slapped her across her high cheekbones, his experience told him that his precious' daughter's face would not bruise, only hurt. Her lips bled lightly from the impact of teeth against flesh. He smiled at her tattered state, "oh no, I have something else in mind. We might have another possibility for you if you do not listen to me. How about your own brother?"

She pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed her lips gently, her eyes full of anxiety. From the intense pain of the cut to her lower lip, she stammered softly, "brother? I don't have a brother."

"Oh yes you do, you just never knew him, even your late mother doesn't know. He is a very powerful young man who might even become the next Prime Minister."

She drew in a short gasp, "what do you mean?"

"Kyoni-san, the world knows him as the leader of the opposition party, I know him as my son, my illegitimate son. I'm sure he can make good use of you, I can publicly denounce you as a daughter for marrying my political enemy, and he will still have all the information he needs through you. I will make sure that Inouye-san gets destroyed with his new idol on a pedestal, and I will make sure that he gets destroyed in your hands whether you like it or not."


	3. The Japanese Politician's Woman 3

One review only… but still, better than nothing :)

ConservEr1e: yes, this fic was posted before, now I'm reposting it with a few changes, and yes, I will keep on writing this time! Thanks for reading!

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**Monday 2:46pm**

After the rush of footsteps and long, penguin-like robes brushing along the corridors of TA Girls School, Rei finally reached the principle's office. She had never been called into it before, and was surprised by the dinginess of the external office. Her heart pounded as she walked towards the principle, she had never been in trouble, always the good, model student of the school. Her heart flipped and her stomach stopped churning when the small man in the stripped suit with his large priestly robes adorned, reached out and took her hand with a large smile. "Miss Hino, what tremendous honour you bring to us! I will not detain you for a moment later, please." He immediately opened the door to his office and gestured for her to enter.

The door opened to reveal a modest office, although it was her first visit, what intrigued her most was not what was in it, but who was in it. Two men stood to meet her, she could help but gasp at whom was standing before her. Two men who had little to do with her present life but had everything to do with her past. The door closed with a soft click behind her, the principal had left her alone with the two. She looked around her unconsciously seeking escape routes, yet there were none. She felt trapped with these men and sought to calm herself, swallowing the bitter bile that rose to mouth.

Rei found herself stiffly bowing to them, hardly knowing why when the first thing that she actually wanted to do was slap them clean across the face.

"Hino-san, I have not had the pleasure of seeing you for a long time now, I believe since your last birthday when we had dinner." Inouye-san bowed to her with the utmost propriety. Her heart clenched as she stared into his face, a hollow face, deprived of every feeling and filled with work. His blond hair swept back to reveal a long skinny face, high cheekbones and a gracious smile. His large blue eyes were obscured by the presence of horn-rimmed glasses. He had lost weight and his eyes lacked the sparkle that had captured her fascination when he was still her Kenta-kun. His athletic height made him hovered over the rest of the people in the room, at least a head taller than herself, and her father only reached up to his nose. He moved gracefully around the room to pull her a chair. Her legs immediately responded as he placed a chair behind her for her to take seat.

"Arigatou, Inouye-san."

He flinched noticeably at her cold, impersonal tone, until the previous year she had called him as Kenta-kun, but now, it was all different. He was no longer her comrade who did not want to enter politics or marry in fear of making his children suffer the same way that Rei had. He was now a man about to enter into marriage with yet another political personnel. He was only a political figure in her mind. He was only Inouye-san, the public man who had no connections to her whatsoever.

"Let's skip the formalities, child, no doubt you have read the newspaper today and saw us on the front page."

"Yes, my father is all publicity, all face. I hope that you are happy the way that the photo turned out, although perhaps a slighter angle of 5 degrees to the left would be better. But I'm sure that your people have told you that." Rei eyed her father coolly, the impeccably dressed man who carried his body with pride. His shorter figure did not disadvantage him when compared to Inouye-san, Imaruru Hino's face said it all, he was not a man to be overlooked.

His small, determined eyes narrowed at his daughter's outrageous suggestion. "I would curb that sharp tongue of yours if I were you."

"But you are not me, and you'll never be me. I'm blessed because I was always much more of my mother's child than yours."

He raised his hand to slap her and Rei did not move. She stared at him with hard eyes and contemplated the ways she would fry him to Kami with her fire-soul attack if he dared touch her. She was pleasantly surprised when Inouye Kenta stepped in and restrained him from slapping his daughter.

"That's enough! You will not make me lose my calm. My aim here today is to withdraw you from formal education for the next three months, during this time, you will be studying by correspondence and under the guidance of a tutor."

Rei felt as though the wind was knocked out of her, this was the last thing that she would have expected, "why?"

"I have no family other than you. How do you suppose I will be able to run an election campaign without at least someone with me? You will be there, as a show of family support. I don't need you to do anything in particular, just stand there and smile, kiss a few babies, wave to the public, that's all. I don't think that it is too much to ask, you cannot refuse me, after all those years I took care of you."

"Took care of me? Ha!"

"You will drop the sarcasm this minute!"

"And what if I do refuse to be a part of your political campaign?"

"You have no choice but to do as I say and you know that. You are still a minor and I will do with you as I please." Imaruru-san picked up his jacket and swept out of the room, when he reached the door he turned back to face his daughter. "Inouye-san will see you back to the Hikawa Shrine, the chauffeur is waiting. I will expect you tomorrow, Rei, with your bags packed outside my apartment. Inouye-san, will you pick her up in the morning? I think that's all, maybe you would like to have some time off, spend it with your fiancée, make sure that the old fox is not up to something, you know what I mean."

"Domo-arigato Imaruru-sama." Inouye-san bowed and watched his benefactor leave the room. He then turned his attention to the daughter of his benefactor, the raven-haired beauty with large steady eyes. Using one hand, he opened the door, and with the other, lightly touched her lower back to show her the way, in a true gentleman's fashion, "after you, Rei-chan."


	4. The Japanese Politician's Woman 4

More fixing up to do with some of the chapters before I repost all of them, it's a little tedious actually. AHHH… but I'm determined to re-do all of it and make it better before I continue with writing new chapters.

Review Responses:

Tsubasa-chan: Yes, I'm reposting, and I promise to keep writing. I've got the whole story mapped in my head and now that I've got the time over Christmas, I'll be doing it. Thankies for reading in the past and, well, for reading it now. Yes, Kenta was based on Kaidou in the manga, when I started writing it I kinda forgot his name… so yep, it's Kenta now.

Keep reviewing, and I'll respond to stuff here :)

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**The Japanese Politician's Woman**

**Monday 3:00pm**

The two sat silently in the large black classic Mercedes Benz, Rei, with her legs crossed, stared blankly as the city swept past her in a speed that she was rarely privileged to experience. Like all people she preferred the luxury of leather seats compared to the dirty old yellow bus filled with irritable young children whose only role in life seemed to be making noise. Yet this car represented a gilded golden cage… a life which she would be forced to lead for the coming months. Its immediate destination was the same as the buses', yet the indulgence came with large, ugly chains, and she had no choice but to board it. No matter how hard she tried to run away, she could never escape from her father. Everything had strings attached, even something as simple as a ride to home. Each time the car stopped at a red light she had to stop herself from getting out – her mother would have been disappointed at her otherwise.

She was aware the presence of her companion, very much aware of him. Her senses were intoxicated by his appearance; the soft waft of spring cologne she noted was still the same, the one that she had once bought him for his birthday when he was her best friend, when he was her comrade. His face remained much the same over the years, the little wear and tear that was expected from living the harsh life in the political limelight, but beyond that, was the sparkle of life in his persona. He was not like her father, who was hollow beyond that steady looking shell; there was some gentleness beneath his mask. She wondered if he had been able to find that side of himself since he had entered the political world. The softer side of him that he had buried to shield from the scathing media; the side that peeped through when he used to play with her in the backyard. Now, she wondered if that side of him would plainly vanish. She did not wish to judge him, but the Shinto priestess could feel that side of him reaching out towards her, appealing for her attention.

She could not but be overwhelmed by the feeling of familiarity of him, she was comforted by his silence, it had always been that way. Those days when he would always just sit beside her, allowing her space to think or talking to her as though she were his equal. Little had changed over the years, except a few things. Unfortunately, those changes were enough to evolve the whole relationship between the two of them into one that neither could recognise.

A long time ago, he had been her father's personal assistant, disliking the world of politics, and swore never to have children in fear of neglecting them. He was now the hot-shot young politician, who had just announced to the world that he was to be married. It was just another political marriage that would be highly covered by the press, a mere political stunt.

She remembered the man who had only been 20 when she first knew him, fresh from university in England, he was like an older brother who looked after her more than her own father had. She was 11 at that time, and he was her world. Now, seven years later, at 18 she was in her final year of high school, he was running as vice-president of Japan. The 27 year old man would run the country with her father, the man who was unfit to be a father to her. She flattered herself to believe her indifferent to what he did. His ideals were no longer ones that she approved of, but then… she had no right to give him approval anyway. Kenta was no longer her world but it frightened her to acknowledge that he might run the politics of it.

**Monday 3:12pm**

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Arr… No, you are misunderstanding me. We both want the same things, I am merely proposing for us to co-operate, I give you something, you give me something, and then we will work together to achieve the same things."

"Why do you want this?"

"The same reason as you."

The man stared at the other in front of him, dressed in elaborate dark purple and red robes, overflowing snake coils of hair, and eyes that would frighten anyone. He could look into the other's eyes, only because his were the same, filled with the same greed, anger and wraith. "My soul, for your power, that's it."

"Correct, do you agree?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Of course!"

"Father? You are yelling."

The man turned to face his daughter who stood in the doorway, "what are you doing in here Seira? You are spying on me."

"I just heard you yelling, and now I see, at no one."

"No one? What do you mean, no one?" Kyoru-san turned to the space that he had been talking to, the man in the purple robes had disappeared. Shaking his head, he looked once again, it was still an empty space. For a moment, he wondered if he had been hallucinating, dreaming the whole scene. "Leave me immediately!" He ordered his daughter without looking at her.

He heard the clatter of her high heels retreating from this side of the house. He dropped onto the floor, and banged his fists against the wall in frustration. Suddenly, a searing pain ripped through his body, a face appeared on the floor space that he had been staring at. Kyoru-san immediately recognized it; it was the same man. The man smiled at him, "you are satisfied, I am satisfied." The face disappeared the moment that Kyoru-san nodded in agreement, but not quickly enough to hide the grin which had taken over that manic face.

Kyoru-san did not have time to wonder about the grin, as quickly as the face had disappeared something else appeared in place of it. He screamed in pain as a sudden rush of burning tore through his body, he felt as though he was burning from invisible flames that engulfed him. His whole body twisted and turned, convulsing into a heap on the ground, his legs sprawling beneath him, his lungs choked for oxygen and it was forcibly pumped out of him. It was a demonic roar that vibrated from deep inside his chest and larynx, an animal being trapped in the body of a man. And then, a creature seemed to drop on top of his chest, momentarily blocking the pain being inflicted from the environment, but it was replaced by something piercing into his flesh, like claws, digging into his body. The continual scraping and pulling from the four limbs of the creature took his breath away, he forgot to breathe, to feel, until the pain took over all his senses. He was on the verge of collapse, yet the bliss of unconsciousness never came, he could feel every move of the creature on top of him, scouring and tearing at the pulp that were his muscles, scraping bone and pulverizing more flesh. He begged it to stop, but it only intensified the attack on him. Kyoru-san could imagine the blood gushing out from the hole that would be in his chest, but there was none. There was no blood, there was no hole, but there was pain. As each strike connected with his body, he hoped that his senses would dull, it never happened, each hammering at his nerves, the rest of his body being tormented by a current of strange electricity-like sensation, it came not from without, but within.

His eyelids were forced open, pinned by unseen nails, his eyes opened wide without seeing, being pulled out of their very sockets by brute force, everything he saw flashed onto his retina, but the lack of oxygen made it impossible for him to understand what he was seeing. He was seeing without seeing. It was an amalgamation of expansion and compression, the compressing of his skull, and the expansion his brain, counteracting and thrashing between themselves. His veins exploding from the rush of whatever it was that was going in, but his skin tightened in defence. Every fingertip, toe, even the ends of his sleek hair screamed for attention, begging for the pain to end. He wondered when he would explode and die; saved from this intense agony that was being inflicted by God-knows-who.

His daughter and wife rushed to the doorway of the room at the sound of the animal-like roaring, only to see the corner of the room where he was being tortured, glowing in a brilliant shade of red and a black shadow clawing at his chest. Shocked, they did not move any closer, but saw his chest open, a light emit and drawn away, the black shadow replacing it. Like a man being electrocuted, his body danced and jerked in separate directions, his pelvis thrust outwards as he tried to stand, his legs bent, and his spine being tortured, convoluting into a humanly impossible twist. The whole scene lasted only for a moment, but long enough to cause pain to Kyoru-san, and fear in the others. He laid on the ground in his own sweat, exhausted and unable to move, the palms of his hand clearly displaying the mark of the black, upturned moon.


	5. The Japanese Politician's Woman 5

**The Japanese Politician's Woman**

**Monday 3:22pm**

He sat on the other side of the car, he couldn't help but notice that Rei-chan had sat at the edge of the seat, leaning close to the door; politeness dictated that he would also remain on the other side. So far she had not said a word to him, they used to be able to talk to each other incessantly, but now, only the silence was incessant. He still remembered each conversation they had had clearly, his heart ached with the thought that he had pained her in anyway, but he knew that he was the reason for this silent treatment from the fair lady sitting beside him.

As the sunlight shone through the tinted windows of the car, it touched Rei-chan's hair, her dark hair shining with radiance, just like her youthful, beautiful face. He could not shake from his mind, the image of her as the happy child that had long disappeared ever since the death of her mother, and the other image, when she had called him a comrade. Most frighteningly, was last year, when she had seen him with Seira-chan; her face darkened immediately and she had turned her back to him.

He had disappointed her, he knew, he had told her that he would not date, and now, he was engaged. Not that he really wanted to get married, but what could you do when your boss was breathing down your neck to marry his daughter? Kyoru-san had arranged for him to appear with his daughter, and arranged for the media to catch a glimpse of them together. He had arranged for the little leaks, he had even arranged for the ring that would be given to his daughter. But, despite the constant pressure from him, Inouye-san's heart was somewhere else, fixated on a person that he could not imagine being able to gain the love of. He knew that her father would oppose, and he was afraid that he was too old for her.

Rei-chan… he longed to touch her inky hair like the sunlight was touching it now, reflecting the brilliant colours of ebony and dark purple. Never, had he loved the colour black as he loved it now, and he would love any colour that Rei-chan wore. Deep inside, he knew that he was too old for her, but he had hoped to retain at least some friendship, alas, it was not to be. He could not help noticing her form of address when she was in the principle's office, "Inouye-san", the soft voice that had whispered his name replayed in his mind, but it told him that they were no longer friends, he was no longer Kenta-kun. He wanted her to call him Kenta-kun once again, but it could not be forced. He could only hope that it was because she was in front of her father that she was so formal towards him, but the cynical side of him rebuked him for being silly.

Her father had told him off for fretting and acting like he was meeting the Empress, little did Hino-san know how much he thought Rei was like an Empress. So royal, elegant yet entirely untouchable.

He saw her suddenly start, like she had seen something that frightened her. Her hands immediately held each other tightly, clenched together, the beautiful brows that adorned her porcelain face, knit in concentration. He reached out but his fingers stopped short of touching her, "Rei-chan, is something wrong?"

"I only wish to return to Hikawa Shrine as soon as possible, there is something which I must do immediately."

"Can I help in anyway? Rei-chan?"

"You can help by addressing me with the same formality that I bestow upon your name," she hesitated slightly, "Inouye-san."

"Yes, of course… Hino-san." He bit his lip, she had now given him explicit instructions to address her formally, and he could not ignore it. She would no longer tell him her secrets, want his help, opinions; as far as he was concerned, he was no more than her father was to her. He didn't want it to be that way, but there was nothing that he could do about it, he could only sit, and silently watch, hoping…

She was aware of the effect of what she had said had done to him, she would have to be blind to not know. His feelings had hit her senses like a rock, and she felt immediately guilty of what she had done. There was a part of her that wanted to reach out and apologise to him for the exchange that had passed between them, but she knew that she couldn't take back what she had said. She was headstrong, she knew that, but it didn't stop her from acting that way. Previously, she sensed that he was having many complicated feelings, but before she had had the time to read and understand them, she had been suddenly hit with another, more drastic vibe.

An evil presence that had completely taken over a person, she didn't know who it was, the sensation had been so sudden, she had not been quite prepared for it, and when she got her senses together, it was too late. She needed to go back to the sacred fire and pull her concentration together; meanwhile, she would not waste her concentration on what Inouye-san felt for her. She longed to call him Kenta-kun once again, but her pride and anger towards him did not allow her so. Another shiver down her back reminded her that her mind was to focus on senshi-business. She stared out the window again, as the car began to approach Sendai Hill.

The familiar road that the bus traveled swept past her, until they reached a fork in the road ahead. She noticed that the chauffeur had signaled left, he planned on taking the shortcut, driving directly up to the Shrine. She would not take such an easy route, in her mind, the only way to go home was by the flight of stairs in the front. The back was for deliveries only. "Stop!"

The car screeched to an immediate halt on her command. "Ma'am, is anything wrong?" The chauffeur turned to ask.

"I will get off here and walk home, you may continue using the back road by yourselves." She quickly hopped off the car, grabbing her school satchel, she banged the door shut. With quick steps she strode towards the right of the fork.

A loud click followed, as another set of doors opened after her. "Wait Rei-chan, I mean, Hino-san! What's wrong?"

She could hear the rapid footsteps of Inouye-san behind her, but she did not stop. Only until he caught up did she bother to explain herself. "It is disrespectful to go to the shrine using a shortcut. Only with perseverance will the shrine bestow you with its blessing if you are to climb the 399 steps, and I will most certainly not be disrespectful to what I believe in."

"Well what about telling me that before you go jumping out of a car? Don't you know it is dangerous?"

"You have no right to use that tone of voice with me Inouye-san."

"I'm responsible for your safety, you heard your father say that!"

"You don't have to baby sit me, I can manage perfectly well on my own thank you very much. If you wish, you can leave right now, I promise that I will not tell my father if that is what you are worried about."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it quite that way. I mean that I want to make sure that you are safe, for my own peace of mind as well. If you don't mind, I'd prefer to go with you." He gave the chauffeur an impatient wave for him to continue with the shortcut, and grudgingly followed after Rei.

Rei hastened her speed, "do as you wish, I have no control over you, but don't expect me to wait for you at the steps."

**Monday 4:00pm**

The man in the purple and red robes sat at his large desk, studiously reading the political science book that he had found in an alleyway two days ago. Himaga took mental note of everything he needed to know about the political arena of Japan, it would be important if he wanted to take control of the country. Now that he had a body to operate in, it was all the more simple. He had a choice of who he wanted to take over of course, Kyoni-san, Kyoru-san, or Imaruru-san. Imaruru-san he had struck off the list immediately, he had felt that this person's character was too strong, the man had too kind a heart and had a guardian angel hovering around him. Who the angel was, Himaga did not know, but when he had had his fun, this angel would be no more.

And then there was Kyoni-san, he was too weak, while this man wanted power, he would have no chance against Imaruru-san in an election to run the country. The only way that he would win was by using dirty tricks, and even with that, he was not sure of his chances.

Last but not least, Kyoru-san. He was the middle character, soon to be cast off from the top of the political hierarchy, having connections with Kyoni-san, and enough knowledge to throw dirt at Imaruru-san without it being linked to him as a deliberate, ungracious act. Using Kyoru-san's position, they could destroy Imaruru-san's chances, and give Kyoni-san the winning throne. But in the end, he, Himaga, would be the sole winner of this little game. He had already won over the soul of Kyoru-san, the moment that Kyoru-san woke up, he would have little difficulty taking the souls of his wife and daughter. His daughter, what was her name? Seira, was a beautiful young lady, no doubt he could charm the soul away from Kyoni-san as well, and destroy the opposition along the way. There was a saying, some Asian proverb, that even the greatest hero could not pass the trap of a beautiful woman.

He was not worried that all of that would not go as planned, humans were easily manipulated. What he was afraid of was those meddling senshi. They who claimed themselves to be protectors of the people, he did not know as yet how he would get rid of them when necessary. He had dismissed the idea that the guardian angel of the opposition, Imaruru-san and his assistant, Inouye-san, would be one of the senshi, but the young lady that they had picked up had the same strong character that he had sensed in the two men, only much stronger. He knew that he would have to keep an eye out for that orient beauty, she obviously had a soft spot for the two men, and if worse came to worse, killing the two would destroy that character in her, guardian angel or not, no one would come close to disrupting his plans. Anyone who tried would have to pay the price.


	6. The Japanese Politician's Woman 6

**The Japanese Politician's Woman**

**Monday 4:48pm**

"What? What do you mean by that?"

…

"Its your father isn't it? He made you do this…"

…

"And I don't suppose that you made much of an effort to oppose him, after all, it was all a bit of a political scam for your family, your father wrote, directed and produced this whole affair for the press."

…

"Well, then, thank you for having told me before the wedding, at least you didn't make me wait at the altar."

…

"No, no words will heal what you have just done to me, don't tell me that you love me, when we both know why we are in this position, you need not pretend any longer, for all the time that we have wasted, I ask one thing of you, don't destroy me any more than you already have."

She stared at the phone, humming incessantly, showing that the person on the other end had already ended the communication. Trails of tears ran down her ivory crafted cheekbones, leaving behind the lines of faded black mascara; each teardrop slid lovingly down her soft, smooth skin, finally dripping off to her skirt and fading into oblivion, as hundreds and thousands had before.

She could not believe that he thought her actions towards him was an act, especially when she had carried a torch for him in her heart during the past few weeks. He was a politician all the same, but there was still a quality within him, some childlike innocence and ideal to change and improve the world, that had captured her heart unlike any other man she had ever met.

Seira was never supposed to fall in love, she knew that like many of her previous arrangements by her father, it should have been a discreet three month affair to gain the hold required to twist their arm; but this had led marriage because of Kenta's continual strong presence in the party, and she could not say that she was repulsed by him. She had been influenced by him and felt that she could no longer do what she had done before for her father, but she knew she could not oppose her father, nor leave this dungeon-like home.

Each word that he had said to her just then lay emblazoned onto her mind, her heart beat at an erratic speed as she repeated each and every word, his tone of voice, his pauses, his breathes… The wounds that had previously been borne and healed reopened, his angry words stabbed at those bloody scars that were inside her. She cried out in agony at that, "why, why is it that I do not bleed black, when all that is inside me has been tainted so? It is Kenta-kun who had saved me, perhaps it is only fit that he should be the one who reopens them again."

**Monday 5:10pm**

"Imaruru-san, this is Kenta."

"Is the Empress throwing a tantrum again?"

"No sir, this is my problem."

"What is it this time?"

"Seira-chan called off the wedding, her old man told her to."

"Shit! When did this happen?"

"I just got off the phone with her."

"Stay in Juuban for the next couple of days, let the wind blow over, I'll deal with this, and if they find you, act the teary heartbroken guy."

"Yeah, will do, thanks."

He stared at the cellular phone in his hand unbelievingly, there were two reasons for the shock on the face, the first that he had managed to escape from a marriage that he was sure to be without passion, and the second, that the reason for the distance between himself and Rei was caused by the scheming mind of one person; and the fact that he was about to destroy that person's career, seemed like a case of revenge. In a way, he would miss the malleability of Seira's personality that seemed to please him at times, but he was also glad that he would not have to live with someone that could not make a decision and stick to it if the tiniest opposition occurred. Sometimes, he looked at her with the utmost sympathy for her condition due to her father's overbearing personality, and wished that he could help her out of the frame that her personality was hardly allowed to grow in, but deep in his heart he believed that it would require something much more drastic to release her.

Over the months that he had known her, he had grown to like her, as a friend, the affection that a mentor would give, as he slowly tried to pry her out of her father's iron grasp. He wondered how long it would take before all that she had 'learnt' would be forgotten, a month? A week? Perhaps not even that long… A tear fell for her as he thought about the harsh words that he had said to hurt her, it wasn't actually intentional, but the confirmation from her that he had only been a tool to unite the present and the future powerhouse of politics had been too much for him. He had always been told that emotional people like himself were not suited for politics, but he had pressed along his ideals to change the system that had killed his parents; to save himself in this arena, he had hid his emotions, but now, looking at the way that Rei looked at him, he wondered if he had hid his emotions too deep for one to even know of its existence.

He took a deep breath, trying to stop the flow of tears that stained his face as he once again thought his parents, looking up to the sky he could only hope that those tears would flow back inwards. He could only speculate if his parents were proud of him for his achievements so far in life, and if they agreed in what he had done with his life, but he knew that they would not approve of his near marriage. The more he thought, the less control he had on his tears as they fell freely, tumbling onto him, he had failed his parents, he had failed all expectations of morality that they must have had in him, but he was too far deep to change any of it.

Blindly, he moved from under the tree he had been standing behind and ran indoors, opening the door of a large room, he checked that no one else was inside, then, he collapsed in front of the burning Sacred Fire. Once he sat down, he felt himself being engulfed by its fiery heat, calming his emotions immediately as though someone had placed a cover on top of them. He had only been in this room once before, when he was with Rei's mother just before her death, she had wanted to give thanks and pray for her beloved daughter and husband. He remembered the soothing feeling as he had entered the room with her; she had told him his affinity for fire, something that he had felt from the single most important event in his life and had saved his life. He had asked her for a favor, to see if one day he would be able to revenge the deaths of his parents, she had smiled at him, and told him that it would occur without his doing. To this day, justice had not been done, but he had never stopped looking for those people responsible for the accident.


	7. The Japanese Politician's Woman 7

**The Japanese Politician's Woman**

_**Review Responses:**_

**_windstrail: Yes, sorry for replacing the name… Kaidou and Kenta are the same person. I just used a different name cos I didn't know what his name was in Japanese spelling… Hope you don't mind if I don't change it to the real/proper name._**

**_Keep reviewing, and I'll respond to stuff here :) Thankies for the encouragement._**

**Monday 5:42pm**

"And may we ask who is speaking?"

"Call me an anonymous tipper, call me your angel, it doesn't really matter, just get someone there, I'm sure that something is juicy is happening."

"Sir, can we ask you to be a bit more specific?"

"It's worth the front page, trust me."

**Monday 6:04pm**

She gave the stairs a final angry sweep, but the leaves taunted her continually as they danced and twirled before her. Rei felt an especial shortage of temper today, first her father, then Kenta Inouye. Kenta Inouye most of all, he had not only disrupted her day, but had been the cause of her inability to read the sign that she had received while she was in the car. It was his cologne, his presence that intoxicated her senses, her senses screaming out to her while she was trying to concentrate on shutting them down, yes, it was his fault.

Her head lifted as she took in the vision of peace before her eyes, in a few hours, she would be transported into the hustle bustle of the city, and there would be no escaping the noise. She still had not worked up the courage to tell the senshi that she was leaving for the next few months, the fact that she had called off the meeting had not alerted them of any wrongs, she only hoped that they would forgive her when they found that her on the front page of a newspaper, in some part of Japan, being the wallflower of her father's campaign. Her head jerked up suddenly, and her tired hands released her clutch on the broom, she had felt something just then, something had occurred. Without regard to the fallen broom nor the crisp leaves that continued their dance, she turned around and returned to the room of the Sacred Fire.

She opened the door of the room quietly, the way that her grandfather had always taught her as the way of showing respect. Her jaw dropped when she saw Kenta-kun kneeling on the floor in tears. "Inouye-san, what is wrong?"

_**Flashback**_

"Son, we're leaving in 10 minutes, make sure you're packed by then!" Inouye-san Sr. bellowed to his 11 year old son who was upstairs reading.

"I'm done father, I have been waiting forever; can we go yet?" Yelled back the tiny high-pitched voice yet to reach puberty.

"What did I say about patience?"

"Then why did you yell?"

"I'm not yelling at you, I'm warning you we are leaving so we don't leave late."

"Okay, okay, it's not like we're not already late though!" Replied the frustrated son.

"Son, we are late because your mother is packing a bento (lunchbox) for all of us, if you don't want to eat, then you should have said so earlier, then we would have saved a few minutes," the father replied good naturedly, "now come down and help with the luggage."

Kenta immediately jumped off his windowsill, propping the book he had been reading tidily on the bookshelf, he picked up his own small bag and ran to the stairs. He had been looking forward to this holiday for weeks, and now that they were finally about to go, he didn't want to delay a single moment. "COMING!"

He dropped his bag on the ground as he got to the stairs, the mischievous side of him wanted to kick the bag down the stairs so he could test if the newly discovered gravity would make his bag roll down without any effort, but he also knew that if he did that, he would be sure to get in trouble. Slowly, he took one step at a time and pulled the bag behind him, 'thud, thud, thud.'

Inouye-san Sr. looked up from the front door and cocked his head, he smiled gently at the child coming down the stairs, trying hard not to run down the stairs (as he had forbidden the act), "son, you know that I don't appreciate tha…"

Kenta watched in horror from the third step as he saw the front door of his house blown open, and flames poured in through the doorway. The flames quickly engulfed his father; Kenta remained standing, unable to move, his eyes fixated on the shadow of several men standing outside beyond the flames, watching the process of the fire, he was shaken from his state of shock by the yells of his father, "GO TO THE BATHROOM!" He turned in a panic and never saw his father again, for when looked back from top of the staircase, the hallway had become a sea of red, his father lost in the dancing colors. He didn't need a doctor to tell him that his journalist father was dead.

Bolting into the bathroom, he took the towels hanging on the rack, turning the taps on; he wet them and stuffed them in the cracks of the door keeping the taps running. Then, he open the windows as much as he could, and sat on top of the wooden toilet seat, his legs tucked underneath him to lessen the shaking of his body, his salty tears adding to the flood of water on the floor.

Ambulance, fire engines and police sirens sounds raced through the neighbourhood, he sincerely prayed that they would come in time to save his mother who was also downstairs. He began choked when the smoke started to come into the bathroom; leaning against the tiles, he eyes started to sting and water, he thought about his mother and his unborn sister, somewhere, downstairs. Smoke bellowed into the small room from the door and window, the tiles warmed, his vision of the room melted before his eyes, and then, he lost consciousness.

"They…, they died? I'm so sorry…. I didn't know… "

"Yes, they didn't have a chance of surviving, nor did I actually, that's why I think your mother said that I had a high connection with fire, the whole house burnt down around me, but the bathroom door didn't even char."

"You never told me that."

"I never told myself. I kept on thinking that it was random, but I had always knew that it wasn't, I denied the truth, my father was just about to uncover a secret operation, they killed to keep the silence."

"What secret operation?"

"He never told me, and the reports are sealed, but I haven't lost my determination to take revenge, and I never will."

Rei reached out to touch his arm, "be careful… K…Kenta-kun," she noticed that he noticeably jerked his face upwards to look at her, "you never know how dangerous the people you are dealing with are." She said with a knowing look in her eyes.

The fire behind her suddenly flared, Rei got up from her kneeling position and ran towards the fire, images flashed in her mind, a mysterious man, Kyoru-san, his daughter and Kyoni-san's faces tore through her vision, then, she saw her childhood home engulfed by fires… As abruptly as it had begun, the images ended.


	8. The Japanese Politician's Woman 8

**The Japanese Politician's Woman**

Sitting on the tree in the middle of Hikawa Dojo, they zoomed the lens around, watching the events, or the lack of, in the holy grounds. A moment ago, they had snapped up several photos of Imaruru-san's daughter, the illusive young woman who never accompanied her father to important functions, but they hoped that it would not be the only fruit of their little expedition. Although the anonymous tipper to their newspaper could not be specific about what they would find, he did drop the hint that Inouye-san was hiding out from the press there, to avoid being asked questions about the challenging of leadership and the leak that his wedding was being called off.

He stared at Rei, she had just called him 'Kenta-kun', the single words meant more than anything in the world to him, then, the fire flared. Without a word, she ran to the fire, gazing into the fire intently, he saw blurred images without recognizing them, but one image stuck in his mind, a mysterious man whose figure danced in his memory, he could not place the face nor see it in his mind, but he knew that that man was the one he had seen standing at his house on that horrendous day.

Rei quietly bowed, and he did the same from behind her, then, she stood and was about to leave the room, as she neared him, he reached out to take her hand, "what happened just then?"

"Nothing."

"I saw something, I saw the figure of the man who killed my family, I know it, that man, the one with the orange red hair."

She stopped for a brief moment and looked at him in wonder, he could see her trying to hold her composure against the shock from the information that he had just given her, "you saw the fire, nothing else, there was no murderer. For your own political future, I'd suggest that you keep your senses together and keep quiet about the 'sighting' you believed you had."

"For God's sake! I don't care about my political future, I care about my life, I care about the lack of life that my family had, and I want to do something about it!" he yelled emotionally, "I've spent all this time telling you the closest thing to my heart, now you won't even tell me what you just saw? I thought for one moment we got some of our camaraderie back, I spilt my heart to you just then, and you don't trust me enough to explain to me something that we both obviously saw!"

"You weren't supposed to see that, and I'm sorry that you think I coxed your secret out of you, perhaps you should have spoken to your fiancée just then." She shook her hand lose and began to walk in an even faster pace and opened the door.

"I don't have a damn fiancée, she called it off, no, her father called it off, and frankly, I'm damn glad, I couldn't stand her!"

She stopped at the door, stunned by his revelation, "then what about your political future?"

"I don't care about it, the only thing I want now is to do something for my family, the family that I tried to forget about because I was scared that I would get hurt in the f(#&Rng limelight, if I could do something for them and in return throw my boots in with politics I wouldn't give it a blink. Yeah, it hurts my future, so what? I can't do a damn thing about it and frankly I don't care anymore!"

In a low choking voice, she blinked back tears as she was touched by his love for his family, "if you wanted to succeed, you could have just… asked me."

He was silent for several moments, the tension between them building as each second flowed by, their hearts beating furiously, and without their knowing, they started to beat as one. "I… I never knew that you felt that way Rei-chan, I had hoped but I never dared, I… I was under the illusion," he struggled with the flow of words, and stared at the polished wooden floor, "that you saw me as an older brother, nothing more. If I had known, I… I would have dropped everything for you, I… I would have never got myself involved with Seira-san."

"I thought that it was… about time, I was honest with you."

He got up from his seat and stood next to Rei, taking her hand in both of his, "Yes, it's about time that I told you how much I…" he choked, his heart falling into her bright violet eyes, he could not take his eyes of her, "I…" he swallowed, his eyes falling to the small luscious red lips, he decided that actions proved more than words and leaned down to kiss her. He lost all sense of time once their lips met, their raw passions finding their needs as they held each other tightly, cherishing each and every inch that their bodies touched.

"Oh god!" click click click click "Maybe that's why they are calling the wedding off! I never thought… he's always been such a 'good boy' in the party!"

"Yeah, you never know with these politicians, one minute they swear allegiance and faithfulness to one person, the next minute here they are sloshing up to some girl."

"Some girl? This is his boss's daughter!"

"Yeah, that's his pattern with women, he gets his bosses' daughters in bed with him, and he gets the promotion, like every other guy in the world."

"The chief is going to fly to the moon when he sees these."

"Come on, we've to get these back to hit the front page."


	9. The Japanese Politician's Woman 9

**The Japanese Politician's Woman**

_**Review Responses:**_

_**cherry blossoms: I'm all for writing non Usagi & Mamoru focused fanfiction, because there are so many of them around. At some point, with lots more work, I'll get one of each of the inners :) Here's me hoping! **_

_**thebodyfarm: Good to know its not getting too mushy….**_

_**Thanks for the support!**_

**Tuesday 6:30am**

He sat casually in his study, leaning back into a chair and sipping a cup of green tea that was before him, his eyes looking vacantly at the photo sitting at the side of his desk. The sky was bright red as it was every morning, bird chirping their bright little tunes were lost on deaf ears as his mind drifted off to another time, another space. A maid came into his study, hands carrying a large white tray, on one side was a bowl of porridge for breakfast, and the morning paper. "Good morning sir."

"Morning, have you prepared the two rooms yet?"

"Yes sir, I had them prepared last night."

"Good." Helping himself to a spoonful of porridge, he nodded his head for her dismissal as he picked up his paper. In his mind he was ready to see Seira and Kyoru-san's teary faces as they played up an act for sympathy over the 'called-off' marriage, but that had not prepared him for what was on the front page.

**Tuesday 6:45am**

Knocking on the closed door softly, he peered into the dark room of Rei, he found her in uniform, sitting in front of a mirror quietly brushing her hair. "Good morning, I would kiss you, but I would feel like I was kissing a kid," he said good-naturedly referring to her school uniform.

She smiled at him, "and good morning to you."

"Do you plan to lock me here all by myself while you go to school?"

"Grandpa will be here, so will Yuuchuiro, you won't be here by yourself."

"I would prefer if you were with me though."

"I can't! I have school to go to."

"Remember? We withdrew you from school for three months."

"As long as I'm in Juuban, I'm going to school."

The door slid open as Yuuchuiro walked in and dropped the morning paper on the desk beside Rei, his body shaking with rage, and behind all the hair in his eyes, he gave a vicious glare to Kenta. Rei gave Yuuchuiro a curious look and turned her eyes to the page, "oh my god, they have photos Kenta!"

**Tuesday 7:15am**

"Morning Ami-chan! What's in the news today?" Asked Usagi as she leisurely walked into the classroom, a yawn escaping her lips.

"Well, er… maybe we'll start with the sports today, umm, golf, there is a tournament in the US at the moment, and um…" Ami bit her lip nervously and avoided her gaze.

"Ami-chan, lets not drag this out any longer than we have to, just start with the news and end with the news please." Usagi flopped onto the chair next to Ami and cocked her head to one side awaiting the boring information that Luna had forced her to know.

"Um…" Ami could not speak and quietly handed the newspaper to Usagi.

"Is that who I think it is? Wow! Who is that guy she is kissing? He looks good!"

"Kenta Inouye, the person running for deputy with Imaruru Hino, Rei's father."

"Wasn't his photo on the paper yesterday?"

"Yes it was."

"And she is lip-locking him? Wait a minute, that was the guy who came to have dinner with her on her birthday wasn't it… that assistant guy."

"He was set to marry the current Prime Minister's daughter, it more or less implies that Rei broke them up, he and Seira Kyoru called off their wedding yesterday, it does paint her in a rather bad way."

"So he's the Prime Minister now?"

"No, they have to elect him first and he's running as the deputy Prime Minister."

"What's that?"

"He's like the person who comes second."

"So Rei gets to be like Mrs Deputy."

"Usagi-chan! It's not easy for her."

"Well of course it's not easy, Mamo-chan and me wasn't easy."

"The whole of Japan thinks that she broke up Kyoru-san and Inouye-san's relationship."

**Tuesday 7:30am**

Rei opened the main doors separating the private section of the dojo and the public shrines, and was greeted with a face full of cameras. She immediately slid the doors shut as she heard the cameramen knocking furiously at the door, ready to thrash it down any moment.

"Ojii-san is not going to be happy about this. What did I do, I've destroyed the sanctity of this wonderful place," Rei ran her hands through her hair, "my mother will be so disappointed in me."

"I'm sorry. I'm sure they'll understand that it's not your fault," Kenta said softly, "your mother loves you and I don't think she could be disappointed in you. You know what thought? It looks like you are going to spend some time with me today, does it?"

"Yes, you got your wish." She smiled as she pecked him lightly on the chin.

"Oh, and much more than I bargained for."

His cellular phone rang, disturbing the mutual communication between them, reading the caller ID display on the phone, he shook his head and sighed, "guess what? It's your father…" She smiled and went back into her room, "moshi-moshi?"

"Do you realize what deep shit we're in right this moment because of you? What was that about PR schooling that we sponsored you for, did they teach you how the hell to lose a watertight election by PR?"

"I'm sorry sir."

"I told you to act teary, dumped and heartbroken. Which part didn't you understand? Not only do you disobey me, you go hopping off to my daughter's arms. She's a child, you sick boy, how dare you take advantage of her? Get your dirty little paws off my daughter you little piece of $I-I17!"

"Imaruru-san, I am serious about her."

"You can damn forget it if you think that you will get anywhere by getting into bed with my daughter but out that front door!"

"I am for real here, its not some one-nighter, I… I know the risks I am taking, and I accept them, readily, in fact, I… I'm willing to hand in my resignation right now sir."

He heard Imaruru, the man who had treated him like a son, take a deep breath, "I want it on my desk by this afternoon, get the chauffeur to drive it over as soon as possible."

He moved his lips, but no words came out, then slowly he said, "it has been my pleasure to learn from you Imaruru-san, you have been like a father to me all these years, you have given me every chance to learn and apply, I apologize for my mistakes and my decision, which you also believe to be a mistake. I am willing to prove to you that my being with your daughter has nothing to do with my goals in life other than that of a happily married man, and… I sincerely hope that my resignation will show that. I will do everything in my power to make sure that this will have no bearings on your election, I believe in what you stand for, your integrity, your morality. I may not deserve it, but I hope that you will give me your best wishes in pursuing someone that if I don't, right now, then I will regret for the rest of my life, because I have truly fallen for your daughter."

"And you hit your head on the way down." Imaruru Hino hung up shaking his head in disbelief. Kenta, for the second in a week stared at his cellular in shock, hardly knowing what had given him the courage to resign.


	10. The Japanese Politician's Woman 10

**The Japanese Politician's Woman**

**Tuesday**

"SHHH! Inouye-san, is this true, are you calling off the wedding for Imaruru-san's daughter? Are you having an affair with her?"

"What about the rumors that you are doing this to further your political career?"

"Excuse me." Kenta said quietly, hushing the crowd immediately, "I will respond to your questions, first of all, I did not call off the wedding, it was Kyoru-san, as for the reason, I can only imagine it to be rage. I did not have any, I repeat, any relations with Ms. Hino, I was not in contact with her at all. As for your second question, I will respond by telling you the truth, I am resigning, from the party and from politics, how you interpret this I do not know, but I can only tell you that it proves one thing, this is not for my career. Imaruru-san, my mentor, will receive my resignation letter this afternoon, so, I must take my leave and write this letter."

He took one long look at them, waved and turned to leave ignoring the questions that were being asked. As he walked into the sunshine, he looked the victor, the hero, the reporters sighed as they thought 'how romantic', that a politician with such a bright future would leave it all, for love.

**10:00am**

The door slid open revealing Rei, changed into her Shinto clothing, sitting quietly, expectant of an entrant, although not quite the one who was standing there. She nodded her head, and he entered without making a sound.

"You kissed him."

"I know that Yuuchuiro, I wanted to."

"He's engaged."

"He wasn't, not anymore."

"Why?"

"Because… I've loved him since I had my senses."

"Why not me?"

"I don't know, you're kind, so patient to me when… I know I haven't been easy to live with, I know that, but you were always there for me. I don't know why, love is… it's so undefinable."

"I've loved you since the first time I saw you. That's why I stayed, you know."

"Yuuchuiro, I see you as an older brother, nothing more, I'm sorry you thought that way about me. I never knew, and if I did…" she bowed her head, "I'm so sorry."

"I see."

"Don't give up, she'll be very lucky."

"I wish you the best of luck Rei-chan."

"Thank you."

Yuuchuiro got onto his feet and bowed, Rei returned his bow but would not meet his gaze… she was ashamed of what had just occurred, and she was seriously wondering whether she had made the right choices.

**10:50am**

"Rei?"

"Ojii-san, I disappointed you."

"On the contrary, I am very proud of you. You have changed a man's life for the better, how can I be disappointed?"

"I am making the same mistake as kaasan, I am thinking that I can change a man's life by love, but in the end, I'll end up like kaasan, burnt…"

"But you flourish under fire, child, you are a flame yourself, and Inouye-san has the affinity for fire, he feeds the fire, and the fire protects him."

"Then we will both get burnt."

"No, you can handle the fire, I've taught you tend to it ever since you were a child."

"Are we still talking about the fire ojii-san?"

"Does it matter? Rei, the life of a Shinto isn't always a life of solitude, we are here to give people hope, some peace in the busy city, and most important, to lead lost sheep back home, and bring them in tune with the tranquillity that life was meant to be. It might seem like a small deed, but both your mother and you set out to bring back one sheep, and where your mother might have failed, I believe that you will succeed."

"Why so much faith in me?"

"Because at least you chose someone who can speak of his feelings, and because he has a passion that he has forgotten, your father had love but no passion - at least you have something more to work with."

"Was otou-san ever truly in love with kaasan?"

"Of course he was, my daughter would have never married for anything less. But she wasn't like you, she was never as alive, as vibrant as you are, and he never spoke of love, he was never head over heels… he was too rational, and she let him have his way. They knew they were in love, rather than acting like they were in love, maybe that's why you doubt it." Grandpa took both of her hands in his in a paternal way, and stroked the back of her hands with his thumbs, "but you, you will want to act like you are in love, and he has to do a lot more to earn your heart than to have him know that he is in love."

"He's going to lose everything ojii-san, everything that he worked for."

"Not if you have anything to do with it." He smiled at his granddaughter's worried gaze, knowing full well that her strong temper might save the young man's career.

"I don't want to beg otou-san."

"He's not a bad man, I never liked him, but not because he was a bad man, I disliked him because his priorities were wrong and he never knew it, and he still doesn't know it. I dislike him because no matter how I try to warn him, he'll laugh it off as an uneducated old man trying to tell an educated man what to do with his life, but I don't hate him enough to want him to regret. No matter how askew his view on life is, no matter how strange his priorities are, deep inside him are morals, morals that no one can change, and those morals are good morals, and that makes him a good man."

"But he has to wake up and start smelling the roses."

"And like I said, you might succeed where you mother did not. Rei, you want a man to love you with all his body, soul and mind, you want him to want you so much that if you did not exist, he would not… Rei, don't expect any less and they will give it to you, both Inouye, and your father. Demand to be heard, and demand to be listened to - you will bring these lost sheep home, somehow, I know you will find a way."

Rei's eyes suddenly became ablaze with animation, she turned her hands around and held her grandpa's hands in her own, squeezing them gently, bowing, she touched her forehead to the ground, "arigato ojii-san, I know what I have to do now."


End file.
